who would he be? Not too proud to admit it, but I am a Raiders fan. And Raider Nation has watched in horror as the team has drafted a bunch of workout wonders. So I am wondering, which NHL GM would be most willing to make a mistake by using a first round pick on a combine all star? If Mike Milbury were still in the league, I can see him making such a blunder.

who would he be? Not too proud to admit it, but I am a Raiders fan. And Raider Nation has watched in horror as the team has drafted a bunch of workout wonders. So I am wondering, which NHL GM would be most willing to make a mistake by using a first round pick on a combine all star? If Mike Milbury were still in the league, I can see him making such a blunder.Posted by BruinsFanInPenTerritory

Mike Milbury made moves for the Islanders that were absolutely awful, but the majority of them weren't his call. He was doing what his employer told him to do. Milbury is an incredibly smart hockey man.

In Response to If Al Davis were an NHL GM... : Mike Milbury made moves for the Islanders that were absolutely awful, but the majority of them weren't his call. He was doing what his employer told him to do. Milbury is an incredibly smart hockey man.Posted by Not-A-Shot

Al would force his best player to sign year to year contracts than not play him like he did to Marcus Allen. Seeing Davis in the interview with Ice Cube in his 30 in 30 espn move mad me laugh. Davis spend thrift ways makes JJ look like a big spender.

Milbury's quote after trading Luongo and Olli Jokinen for Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha before the 2000 draft, "This is it. This is my job. My job is squarely on the line. If we're not a better team immediately, if we're not a very good team over the long haul, then off with the head."

Thank god he left BC after a cup of coffee so that they could get it right and finally hire Jerry York.

Milbury's quote after trading Luongo and Olli Jokinen for Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha before the 2000 draft, "This is it. This is my job. My job is squarely on the line. If we're not a better team immediately, if we're not a very good team over the long haul, then off with the head." Thank god he left BC after a cup of coffee so that they could get it right and finally hire Jerry York. Id take Al Davis over Mike Milbury.Posted by mattymcgee55

Milbury is a blithering idiot. He was just about the only person in hockey who had his nose buried so far up Colin Campbell's behind that he actually defended Cooke's hit on Savard. "Let 'em play! It's a rough game!" Every time I think about that it makes my blood boil.

Not to mention trading UP to draft Rick freakin' DiPietro. THN just listed that in their draft preview issue as one of the worst GM moves in the history of the NHL. Even as he was doing it, every other GM thought he'd lost his mind.

In Response to Re: If Al Davis were an NHL GM...:[QUOTE]In Response to If Al Davis were an NHL GM... : Mike Milbury made moves for the Islanders that were absolutely awful, but the majority of them weren't his call. He was doing what his employer told him to do. Milbury is an incredibly smart hockey man.Posted by Not-A-Shot[/QUOTE

Milbury I like on tv. As a coach , ya he was alright. As a GM he was in that position way too long to make a lot a bad moves . Smart talker - yes , decision maker as a GM - No

In Response to Re: If Al Davis were an NHL GM... : Hopefully this is sarcasm. Milbury I like on tv. As a coach , ya he was alright. As a GM he was in that position way too long to make a lot a bad moves .Posted by Chowdahkid-

Milbury's name was on the paper, but he was doing what Wang wanted. I've actually done a boatload of research on the Islanders and their trading ways. It is fascinating how many great players and picks they moved to get...nowhere.

After Milbury left, the crazy deals still went on, indicating that it was all Milbury. Look at the deal they swung to get Ryan Smyth for more on that.

In Response to Re: If Al Davis were an NHL GM... : Milbury's name was on the paper, but he was doing what Wang wanted. I've actually done a boatload of research on the Islanders and their trading ways. It is fascinating how many great players and picks they moved to get...nowhere. After Milbury left, the crazy deals still went on, indicating that it was all Milbury. Look at the deal they swung to get Ryan Smyth for more on that.Posted by Not-A-Shot

not a shot if this was most of wang's doing and it was public knowledge like you said it is ( your research ) don't you think he would have gotten an opportunity with someone else . just seems there is more to it then saying itwas mostly wangs fault with the decisions. no doubt Milbury is a smart hockey guy , he comes up with some really good insight on different issues here on hockey night in canada.

In Response to Re: If Al Davis were an NHL GM... : Not to mention trading UP to draft Rick freakin' DiPietro. THN just listed that in their draft preview issue as one of the worst GM moves in the history of the NHL. Even as he was doing it, every other GM thought he'd lost his mind.Posted by duinne

The Islanders won the draft lottery in 2000. They finished with the second worst record and move up to the #1 slot.

Milbury is a bit of an enigma as a hockey personnel, to say the least. Yes, he was a terrible GM, but he knows the game of hockey and knows what it needs.

Before somebody bites my head off, let me elaborate. Milbury knows the game as a former player and coach. He knows the right style of play to have, and how to go about it. However, he is terrible as a talent evaluator, which is the sole purpose as a GM, besides taking orders from the Owners and Team President. Players with successful careers may go on to management roles with teams, but their success does not make for a guaranteed successful career in management. Some players are good with being leaders, and controlling their subordinates, and those players would make good coaches. Other players may be good with evaluating talent and picking the roles for certain players, and they'd be good as a scout or GM.

Charles Wang made the decision to hire someone with a proven track record in the NHL, but was new to the GM game. He made a huge mistake, and he's still paying the consequence as a result. Regardless of what you think of Wang as an owner, I have a great respect for him because he loves the game of hockey and is willing to spend out of pocket to make moves he believes will make his team better. While he has a terrible track record, he's still the type of owner teams need to have in order to make this league better. Passionate people with big wallets that will do what they can to make this league the best it can be, you can't ask for much more from an owner (except emotional intelligence as an executive, but not every owner is hockey savvy, a lot are just fans and the rest are businessmen who see a chance on profit).

Milbury is a bit of an enigma as a hockey personnel, to say the least. Yes, he was a terrible GM, but he knows the game of hockey and knows what it needs. Before somebody bites my head off, let me elaborate. Milbury knows the game as a former player and coach. He knows the right style of play to have, and how to go about it. However, he is terrible as a talent evaluator, which is the sole purpose as a GM, besides taking orders from the Owners and Team President. Players with successful careers may go on to management roles with teams, but their success does not make for a guaranteed successful career in management. Some players are good with being leaders, and controlling their subordinates, and those players would make good coaches. Other players may be good with evaluating talent and picking the roles for certain players, and they'd be good as a scout or GM. Charles Wang made the decision to hire someone with a proven track record in the NHL, but was new to the GM game. He made a huge mistake, and he's still paying the consequence as a result. Regardless of what you think of Wang as an owner, I have a great respect for him because he loves the game of hockey and is willing to spend out of pocket to make moves he believes will make his team better. While he has a terrible track record, he's still the type of owner teams need to have in order to make this league better. Passionate people with big wallets that will do what they can to make this league the best it can be, you can't ask for much more from an owner (except emotional intelligence as an executive, but not every owner is hockey savvy, a lot are just fans and the rest are businessmen who see a chance on profit).Posted by joeschmo25

Wang is in it to make money, which is perfectly fine. When he bought the team, he didn't really know too much about the game of hockey. His prime motive for having the team, as a real estate guy, is to get an entire complex built around a new arena (think: Patriot Place).

Yea he's been pushing for the Lighthouse Project to be passed for a while now. He's genuinely interested in keeping the Islanders in New York, but the city keeps fighting him on it. He knows how much money he can get from the project, and giving the team a new arena should increase ticket sales, as will the improving record of the team. If DiPietro could remain healthy they'd have a legitimate goaltender and become a borderline playoff team, of course they'd still have a lot of gaps to fill in, but great teams start in the net, unless it's this years Cup Finals.

He does like hockey though, which is always a positive in owners, something we need more of.

Meh, at work and typing in between doing my job - meant to say he traded Luongo in order to pick DiPietro. Great move, not to mention picking him ahead of Heatley and Gaborik. What I really hate about him, though, is his moronic TV commentary. Either he wants to be the next Don Cherry and be "controversial" or he really believes the baloney he spews. I don't know what's worse.

Meh, at work and typing in between doing my job - meant to say he traded Luongo in order to pick DiPietro. Great move, not to mention picking him ahead of Heatley and Gaborik. What I really hate about him, though, is his moronic TV commentary. Either he wants to be the next Don Cherry and be "controversial" or he really believes the baloney he spews. I don't know what's worse.Posted by duinne

Yeah, I'm sure that's what you meant to say. You meant to say that he "traded Luongo in order to pick Dipietro" but instead, by mistake, you said, "trading UP to draft Rick freakin' DiPietro.". Sure, that's an easy mistake to make. Either that, or you were just plumb wrong.

I like Milbury's commentary. He doesn't play the middle of the road game. He's not a bi-partisan guy. He says what he thinks. It's refreshing in today's world of announcers doing everything they can to avoid offending someone, somewhere on Earth.

If Al Davis were an NHL GM...he'd be StanleyCupToTheBruins2011. "Wheeler's 6'4" and put on 20lbs of muscle, and he skates really fast, so he's the next Mario Lemieux!" "Mikko Lehtonen is a big, fast skater - he's going to be a star!"

The Chara-Spezza-Yashin deal was driven by the owner - terrible, but you have to give Milbury a mulligan. Problem for MM is that he made so many terrible deals, you can't blame them all on Wang. He rolled prospects and young, developing players out the door so fast and so often it was ludicrous. He'd have traded Kessel after half a season for a stay-at-home defenseman and a 5th round pick. He'd have moved Rask after his first season in the A because he wasn't developing fast enough. He'd never have kept Boychuk. He'd have signed Ryder to an extension by now.

Milbury's image is that he's a guy who's always agressive to a fault - everything he does has to have some element of beating a guy with his shoe to it. So patience with rebuilding? Nonsense! Chemistry? Instant or Nothing! Not a philosophy that works for a GM. Funny thing is, it often works for a coach, but the team he assembled in Long Island didn't have enough talent for him to coach it up so he had to fire himself repeatedly.